93-Year-Old Trapped in Wreckage for 8 Hours Until His Car Is Spotted in Woods

Carl Keown, a 93-year-old resident of Jeffersonville, Indiana, went out for a drive on Thursday, Feb. 7, that almost killed him. His car plunged off the road, down a hill, and into a tree. He was out of sight, and it was quickly getting colder.

Keown was unable to get out of his car, and the trees kept him pretty well-hidden, but he kept the hazard lights on. It was around midnight when Andrew Koehler passed and noticed the faint lights coming from the woods.

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It was a miracle Koehler even saw the lights, as no one else had noticed, and if he hadn’t stopped and alerted authorities, Keown’s story could have ended very differently.

Thankfully, deputies arrived and trudged through the deep leaf litter and into the woods to investigate. They found the elderly gentleman still behind the wheel, 8 hours after the initial accident.

“Community and Emergency Services work together resulting in positive outcome in accident involving 93 year old man!” the sheriff’s office posted to Facebook on Feb. 8.

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“Thursday evening at 11:50 p.m. Andrew Koehler was traveling on Louisville Road and saw lights in the woods. It didn’t feel right, so he turned around and came back to the area.”

“He called 911 and waited in the area. Nelson County Dispatch gave the call to Deputy Levi Preston and Deputy Reece Riley. They arrived on the scene at 12:05 a.m. and hiked down the hill and into the woods toward the lights. The lights belonged to a vehicle that had been driven by ninety-three year old Carl Keown of Jeffersonville, Indiana.”

“Mr. Keown’s vehicle had left the roadway slightly before a guardrail, traveled down a steep hill, through a farm gate and into the woods before coming to a stop … He was transported by Nelson County EMS to University Hospital.”

“I responded to assist at the scene and am very proud of the quick response and teamwork from Nelson County Dispatch, Nelson County Sheriff’s Office, Nelson County Fire & Rescue, and Nelson County EMS,” Sheriff Ramon Pineiroa wrote.

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“All of us, including Mr. Keown’s daughter Terri, are extremely grateful to Andrew Koehler for following his instinct, acting as a Good Samaritan, and possibly saving Mr. Keown’s life!”

The department posted photos of Keown and of the scene of the accident, showing just how hidden his car was.

“I’ve already got a phone call in to him and left him a message,” Keown’s daughter told LEX 18 News. “I mean, what Andrew did, and how he saw him driving down this road, and everything that he managed to avoid was just surreal.”

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“He has a guardian angel,” she added. “God’s not ready for him yet!”

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Amanda holds an MA in Rhetoric and TESOL from Cal Poly Pomona. After teaching composition and logic for several years, she's strayed into writing full-time and especially enjoys animal-related topics.

As of January 2019, Amanda has written over 1,000 stories for Liftable but doesn't really know how. Graduating from California State Polytechnic University with a MA in Rhetoric/Composition and TESOL, she wrote her thesis about metacognitive development and the skill transfer between reading and writing in freshman students.
She has a slew of interests that keep her busy, including trying out new recipes, enjoying nature, discussing ridiculous topics, reading, drawing, people watching, developing curriculum, and writing bios. Sometimes she has red hair, sometimes she has brown hair, sometimes she's had teal hair.
With a book on productive communication strategies in the works, Amanda is also writing and illustrating some children's books with her husband, Edward.